Contra Costa Herald

Suspect Trevor Michael Berryman and the Mercedes police say he was driving. Photos by San Ramon Police

By San Ramon Police Department

On January 18th, 2018, the San Ramon Police Department responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle parked on Minerva Way.  Upon arrival, Officers located a vehicle with apparent bullet holes, as well as a blood trail leading away from the area.

During the subsequent investigation, Detectives learned that the driver of the vehicle had been shot earlier in the evening in San Ramon and received medical attention at a local hospital.  During the course of the investigation, the subject alleged to be responsible for the shooting was identified as a 21-year-old San Leandro resident, Trevor Michael Berryman.  Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Mr. Berryman for: 664/187PC – Attempted Murder and 182PC – Conspiracy.

The vehicle that was used during the commission of the crime is a black, four-door, 2009 Mercedes-Benz, license number: CA 6UWK467.

If anybody has any information related to this case or knows the whereabouts of Mr. Berryman and or his vehicle, please contact the San Ramon Police Department at (925) 973-2779.

In a post on Facebook on Thursday, Jan. 25 by Matthew Sherman, who claims to be the suspect’s brother, he wrote:

Some of you have seen the recent report about my brother and this terrible situation. Our family has been receiving calls, texts and messages regarding the situation with questions, so allow me to clear some things up. Yes, this is my brother and yes he is a suspect in this crime. He is still innocent until proven guilty. Our family is cooperating with San Ramon police to help in any way we can. Trevor is still missing so if you see him, please tell him to call me, his sister, his dad, any of us. We’re doing all we can to help come to a peaceful resolution. Please respect our families [sic] privacy in (t)his issue and keep judgment to yourself. The comments I’ve seen on the multiple news outlet reports is sickening. I never thought I’d be on the side of a report like this proclaiming “he’s a good kid from a good family”, however, that’s the God’s honest truth. Our family is now, and always will be, supportive of all law enforcement and we will do all we can to help get to the bottom of the truth.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff

Martinez Dentention Facility. Photo by Harry H. on Foursquare

At about 12:47 AM today, a Deputy Sheriff was doing a room check at the Martinez Detention Facility (MDF) when he noticed an inmate was unresponsive in his bunk. The Deputy immediately called for medical assistance and started CPR.

Medical staff at MDF continued life-saving measures. An ambulance and the fire department responded to MDF. The inmate was later pronounced deceased. The inmate is identified as 45-year-old James Darryl Cooper of Vallejo. On January 18, 2018, he was booked into MDF on a warrant for domestic violence. He also had three arrest warrants from Solano County. His death appears to be medically related. An autopsy will be conducted to try to determine the cause of death.

The officer-involved protocol was initiated. Investigators from the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff and the DA’s Office are conducting an investigation into the death.

Approve purchase of five new fire trucks for Con-Fire

By Daniel Borsuk

Without a whimper of a protest from a non-franchised solid waste hauler, Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to make it costly to operate a business in the county.

At the request of District 1 Supervisor John Gioia, supervisors agreed to raise the performance bond to $50,000 from $20,000 even though at one point the supervisor from Richmond attempted to press on the need to lift up the performance bond as much as $100,000.

In addition to paying for the annual performance bond, anyone conducting business as a non-franchise waste hauler in the county would have to pay $229 for an annual permit per vehicle and meet other rules the Contra Costa County Health Services Department has developed.

Independent trash hauling operators would also be subject to annual inspections and would have to adhere to other rules county supervisors established in an ordinance passed last November.

The non-franchised waste haulers ordinance is set to go be enforced in March.  County officials are uncertain how many non-franchise trash haulers there are in the county because they work undercover in warehouses and illegally dump loads usually under the cloak of darkness and in out-of-the-way unincorporated parts of the county.

“I’ve been working on this issue in North Richmond for 20 years, and if they (i.e. homeowners) can hire someone to haul their trash for $20 versus $70 they’ll do it for $20,” said Gioia.  “The question is whether we are setting the bar too low.”

The supervisor contends his District 1 in West county and District 5 in East County represented by supervisor Federal Glover tend to be hit the hardest by non-franchised solid waste haulers who illegally dump trash in unincorporated areas thereby forcing the county to spend thousands of dollars to clean up sites.

“If you make it too expensive, “warned Supervisor Candace Andersen, whose District 2 gets perhaps the least amount of trash illegally dumped by non-franchised haulers, “there will be more of a need for haulers to resort to the black market.”

District 3 Supervisor Diane Burgis, who has observed hundreds of paint cans litter Marsh Creek Road, commented, “These people can do a lot of damage with one load.  Twenty thousand dollars for a performance bond is nothing.  I’d like to set it higher. “

At the suggestion of Board Chair and District 4 Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, Gioia and other supervisors agreed the $50,000 performance bond would be a good start to assess independent trash haulers not affiliated with either of the two major trash haulers, Republic Services and Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery.  Both companies played key roles in compelling the supervisors to approve the ordinance last year.

District 5 Supervisor Federal Glover of Pittsburg said the problem of trash dumped by non-franchised haulers on vacant lots is a countywide problem, not mainly an East and West county issue.  While he supports raising the performance bond to $50,000, he said the board of supervisors needs to be proactive and needs to monitor how the non-franchised trash haulers respond to the new ordinance.

Board chairperson Mitchoff requested that Marilyn Underwood of the Contra Costa Health Services Department, the department enforcing the ordinance, to give the board a progress report in March once the ordinance becomes enforced.

Fire District to Acquire 5 New Trucks

The Contra Costa Fire Protection District will add sorely needed new fire equipment with the supervisors 5-0 consent action approval to buy five new fire engines from Golden State Fire Apparatus Inc. at a price tag not to exceed $4.6 million.  The new vehicles will be delivered to the CCFPD in January 2019.

Supervisors voted to acquire four Type I fire engines and one 100-foot aerial ladder truck from Golden State Fire Apparatus to help alleviate an aging fleet of 35 Type I engines with an average age of 9.3 years per vehicle.  All engines that are more than 10 years old, Fire Chief Jeff Carman reported, have more than 100,000 miles.  Four Type I engines targeted for replacement each have more than 125,000 miles.  One engine sustained a catastrophic motor failure while responding to a state mutual aid response in Southern California this fall.

The new aerial apparatus truck will be the fire district’s 10th ladder truck.

The county has arranged a 10-year lease agreement through PNC Equipment Financial LLC worth an amount not to exceed $4.6 million with annual payments of $460,000 at an annual interest rate of 3.5 percent.

Two of the three cars involved in the fatal accident on Deer Valley Road near Empire Mine Road, Thursday morning, Jan. 25, 2018. Photos by East Contra Costa Fire Protection District

By CHP-Contra Costa

Today, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018 at about 7:01 am, Contra Costa CHP was advised of a three-vehicle traffic collision on Deer Valley Road, just north of Empire Mine Road. Upon CHP and emergency personnel arrival, it was determined that a Honda Civic collided with a Honda Accord, and then into a Toyota Camry. The male driver of the Honda Civic was pronounced deceased at the scene. The other two drivers only suffered minor injuries and complaints of pain.

At 7:50 am, East Contra Costa Fire units responded, according to Interim Battalion Chief-Public Information Officer Ross Macumber. He also stated that Antioch Police personnel responded to the scene, as well. According to the report by Interim Battalion Chief for Operations Craig Auzeene, there was major damage to two of the vehicles but only minor damage to the third and that Deer Valley Road was closed from Balfour Road to the Kaiser hospital.

In the initial investigation, it appears that the solo male driver (38-year-old from Brentwood) of the Honda Civic was traveling northbound on Deer Valley Road and for unknown reasons, he veered across the solid double yellow lines and into oncoming southbound traffic on Deer Valley Road, directly into the path of the oncoming Honda Accord and collided with the Accord. Then the Civic spun out of control, continuing in the southbound lane and collided with the oncoming Toyota.

The solo female driver from the Accord was transported to a local hospital for minor injuries only and the solo female driver from the Toyota was privately taken to a local hospital for only minor complaints of pain only.

Tragically the 38-year-old male driver of the Honda Civic was pronounced deceased at the scene. The Contra Costa County Coroner was dispatched to the scene to identify the deceased male and recover his body. The Coroner’s office will be the lead agency regarding the release of the deceased male identity.

It is unknown at this time if alcohol or drugs are a factor in this collision. This collision is still under investigation and if anyone witnessed it or the events leading up to it, please contact Contra Costa CHP in Martinez, (925) 646-4980.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff

On Monday at about 9:30 PM, Deputy Sheriffs responded to a report of a shooting on the 500 block of Market Street in North Richmond that may have been preceded by a verbal dispute.

When Deputies arrived, they found three male gunshot victims. All of them were transported to a hospital where they remain

The suspect is outstanding.

Anyone with any information on this incident or the identity of the suspect is asked to contact the Office of the Sheriff Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600. For any tips, please email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call 866-846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.

By ECCFPD Fire Chief Brian Helmick

I would first like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope your holiday season was enjoyable while allowing you a chance to reset before the busy year ahead.

In April of 2017, I was named the Interim Fire Chief for the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District and was appointed by the Board of Directors as the permanent Fire Chief in October. As I worked on getting up to speed with all the functions of the Fire Chief position, I found that the year was really about working to stabilize our service level and establishing a solid foundation upon which to build future service improvements.

When I started in April of 2017, it was apparent that there were many systems and processes that needed to be improved. Initially, my primary objectives were addressing the District’s retention challenges and assuring that the District operated as efficiently as possible with the revenues available. This required transitioning the District to a three-station operation model (although the current District Mater plan calls for 9 stations to adequately serve the District).

The District has a long road ahead in its effort to improve service to our customers. I believe the District’s staff has made good strides and begun to build a solid foundation for future growth. I am a firm believer in working as a team. What we have done over the past nine (9) months within the District internally is give our line-personnel additional responsibility and a voice in the future of the District. Specifically, we created several line staff committees where decisions can quickly move up the chain of command to accomplish tasks much faster. Some of the District’s internal committees include: operations committee, technology committee, public relations / information (PIO) committee to name a few. These committees not only improve communications but ultimately improve the level of service the District provides to the communities the District serves.

Here is a summary of some of our 2017 accomplishments:

• Internal Audit Discovers Additional Funding: as the new Fire Chief, one of the first priorities was to understand the District’s financial processes and assure the District was operating as efficiently as possible with the revenue that is provided to the District. After many countless hours, meetings, and seeking professional assistance, $6.2 million in one-time funding was identified from the past three budget cycles. These monies will be used on one-time expenses in the near future, including facility improvements and equipment replacements. As of this notice, the District has not utilized any of the $6.2 million one-time funds and we will not do so until all external District audits are complete. In addition to identifying these onetime funds, the District has established a balanced budget that is sustainable for at least the next ten (10) years.

• Improved Capital Replacement Funding: We have established a facility and equipment based capital reserve funding program and are in the process of replacing worn equipment and refurbishing our long-neglected facilities. In the near future I will begin to share how antiquated the District’s infrastructure (stations, equipment, engines) is and what challenges the District will have as we work to increase services.
• Restructured the Organization: We have successfully transitioned to a three-station operation model and increased administrative staffing. This has provided a strong financial base to build future improvements on and assures adequate personnel to guide the District on its path to improved service levels. The addition of administrative staff will assure we complete budgeting and auditing functions in a timely manner, move forward on developing a service improvement plan, and stabilize our current service level.
• Improved Communications: in 2017, as a District, we began to take control of our own messages and sharing our story with the citizens we serve. We invested heavily in re-launching our own website (www.eccfpd.specialdistrict.org) where citizens can now live stream board meetings and obtain relevant and up to date information on the District. In addition, we have launched several new and updated social media pages on behalf of the District. The Social Media channels now available for citizens to get relevant and up to date information about the District are:

o Facebook https://www.facebook.com/EastContraCostaFireProtectionDistrict

o Instagram https://www.instagram.com/east_contra_costa_fire/

o YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUo1LReabUPEcz5BL0Awn5g

o Twitter https://twitter.com/eccfpd

o Nextdoor

• Partnered with California Fire Foundation to supply aid to victims: ECCFPD, in cooperation with International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1230 and the California Fire Foundation, can now provide emergency financial assistance to fire and natural disaster victims. The goal is to provide immediate short-term support in the aftermath of a fire or other natural disaster which displaces victims.
• Public Outreach: Our firefighters have begun visiting schools, preschools and attended many community events as well as hosted a series of our own events such as fire station open houses, Santa visits, and health and safety fairs. This was aimed at becoming more visible to the public. 2017 was just the start; in 2018 we have a calendar full of events we will be participating in.
• Station 53 Name Change: To better reflect a District identity, we changed the identifying number of Station 93 to Station 53 to ensure all stations in Battalion 5 were in the same numeric sequence. Upon additional station growth, those stations will also be in the 50 series.
• Strike Teams Established: For the first time in more than a decade, our District was able to assist other fire districts on major fire calls. In a period of two months, our District sent an engine in October to the Napa/Sonoma County Fires. In December, we sent an engine to Southern California to the Creek Fire in Los Angeles County and the Thomas Fire in Ventura/ Santa Barbara counties. The crews worked to save the Wildlife Way Station north-east of Los Angeles and protected several hundred exotic animals.
• New Turnouts: You may have noticed a new look to our firefighters as they recently switched to black turnouts (Protective uniform clothing). Our old turnouts are at the point of not meeting safety requirements. As of this release, all personnel’s turnouts are being replaced as part of the new capital replacement funding program. Traditionally, we have worn tan turnouts, but the black ones were something our line personnel wanted, plus the color change was a cost neutral decision.
• Firefighter Retention: Late in 2017, our fire board approved a new union contract which includes a pay raise that more fairly compensates our firefighters for the lifesaving work they perform. Although we are still the lowest paid, among other surrounding fire districts across the Bay Area, the gap has significantly closed which should help with our retention issues. The new contract also includes a 50%-50% sharing of future health care costs for active and retired fire fighters. This will significantly reduce the cost of our healthcare liability.
• Critical Incident Management: Firefighting is a demanding profession and it can take a toll on our firefighters. In 2017 the District worked to improve the Districts Critical Incident Management and Peer Support team and brought on a Voluntary Fire Chaplain and mental health professionals to provide support to our members•
• Planning for the Future: The District is well on its way to developing a strategic implementation plan for improving the level of fires service within the District. We have retained a legislative consultant to establish a relationship with the state legislature, are in the process of retaining a strategic planning consultant, and will be developing a long-term funding and implementation plan to increase fire district services in the future.

These are just some of the highlights and achievements the District accomplished in 2017 and we look forward to improving the District in 2018. In 2018, we have many initiatives on our plate which include potentially moving to a five-member elected fire

board, developing a strategic plan to increase service levels, and improving the District’s infrastructure so we can build upon it when / if additional revenue becomes available.

As a District, we are always seeking public comments and participation. I encourage and recommend that all ECCFPD’s citizens and business owners become engaged with and learn about ECCFPD’s current service level restrictions and organizational challenges. This can be accomplished by becoming familiar with ECCFPD’s: website, Master Plan, social media channels and attending District meetings.

I look forward to a productive 2018 and continuing to push this District forward towards a higher level of service.

ABOUT THE EAST CONTRA COSTA FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT: The East Contra Costa Fire Protection District is a rural-funded fire district that protects approximately 249 square miles and over 114,000 residents. The District provides firefighting personnel and emergency medical services (basic life support) to the residents and businesses of the Cities of Brentwood and Oakley, the Township of Discovery Bay, and the communities of Bethel Island, Knightsen, Byron, Marsh Creek, and Morgan Territory.

As of July 1, 2017, ECCFPD has three (3) fire stations staffed by three (3) firefighters, for total district staffing of nine (9) firefighters per day. The district responds to over 6,900 calls a year that depend on approximately 9,000 fire engine responses. ECCFPD’s Master Plan calls for nine (9) stations to adequately provide coverage to the District’s citizens and businesses.

You can visit us on the Districts website, www.eccfpd.org or through our social media pages on Facebook (East Contra Costa Fire Protection District), Instagram (@east_contra_costa_fire) , Twitter ( @ECCFPD ), Nextdoor and our YouTube channel (East Contra Costa Fire Protection District) for more information on the Fire District.

Screenshot from ABC7 News of Camila and Lenexy Cardoza, the victims of a fatal stolen vehicle crash in Antioch, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018.

Second Cardoza daughter dies; Bail for suspect increased to $2,130,000

By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff

The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office has filed an additional murder charge against 23-year-old Noe Saucedo of Pittsburg.

On Friday the DA’s Office filed formal charges against Saucedo. He was charged with murder, felony evading, possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of heroin.

Saucedo remains in custody at the Martinez Detention Facility. He is being held in lieu of $2,130,000 bail.

We are saddened to report that two-year-old Camila Cardoza was officially pronounced deceased at the hospital. Camila was a passenger, along with her sister Lenexy, in a vehicle that was struck by a stolen pick-up truck driven by Noe Saucedo on Wednesday on Somersville Road in Antioch. Lenexy was killed in the collision.

The investigation into the collision is ongoing by the Contra Costa County D.A.’s Office, California Highway Patrol, Antioch Police Department and the Office of the Sheriff per the officer-involved protocol. Investigators are trying to determine why suspect Saucedo stole the Ford F-250 pick-up truck in Pittsburg, why he accelerated away from a Deputy Sheriff who was following him, and why he ran through a red light at the intersection of Somersville Road and the eastbound Highway 4 off-ramp before colliding into another vehicle. In addition, tests are being conducted to determine if Saucedo was impaired in any way.

Anyone with any information on this incident or who may have witnessed it is asked to contact the Office of the Sheriff Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600. For any tips, please email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call 866-846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.

For further news about this case on ABC7 News, click here.

What: Pension Reform – Bipartisan Speaker Series

Who: State Senator Steve Glazer and Assemblywoman Catharine Baker

Date: Monday, January 22, 2018

Time: 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Citizen participation: Q & A after presentations

Where: San Ramon City Hall, Council Chamber, 7000 Bollinger Canyon Road, San Ramon

State Senator Glazer

California’s growing pension liability is threatening California’s economic future, unless elected leaders show the courage to take on needed reforms, according to Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, and Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, R-Dublin, who will kick off their 2018 Bipartisan Speaker Series on the topic on Monday, January 22.

On hand will be pension expert David Crane, president of Govern for California, whose mission is to support legislators willing to tackle tough fiscal issues. Crane, also a Stanford lecturer in public policy, will speak on the economic stresses that California faces with its growing pension liabilities.

“As pension liabilities continue to soar, California faces a looming fiscal crisis that could cripple California’s ability to offer basic services,” Glazer said. “This is the sleeper issue of our time, and if we don’t act on it, we will be forced to make budgetary decisions that will create extreme hardships on families across the state.”

Assemblywoman Baker

Baker added: “Our pension system is already crowding out essential government services, and threatening our future financial health. It is our duty to put politics aside, and find a long-term solution while economic times are better. We should not kick the can down the road, and wait until economic times are worse, and the crisis deeper.”

Over the last two years, Sen. Glazer and Assemblywoman Baker have held more than a dozen bipartisan town hall meetings in an effort to break down partisan barriers to arrive at common sense solutions to California’s problems.

The proposed map of the State of New California in blue.

By Allen Payton

On Monday, Jan. 15 a group of Californians, representing 21 of the 58 counties throughout the state, gathered in Marysville to declare their independence and intention to form a 51st State of New California. Contra Costa County is the only Bay Area county to be included in the list and is represented by Scott Bennett, the county chair and delegate to the Convention the group held on Saturday, Jan. 13 at which they approved their State Declaration of Independence. New CA Executive Summary

Proposed design for the State of New California flag.

Other counties that currently have representatives include Butte, El Dorado, Fresno, Kern, Lake, Mendocino, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Riverside, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Yolo and Yuba. Recent additions which don’t have a representative listed on the group’s website are Santa Cruz, Orange and Imperial Counties.

However, according to their map page the counties that would not be included in the new state are Alameda, Solano, Napa, Marin, San Francisco, Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz in the Bay Area, as well as Sacramento, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, as well as the southern portion of Los Angeles County. The group estimates the new state will have a population of 15 million, leaving approximately 25 million remaining in the current State of California. Plus, the new state will have 25 to 27 members in the U.S. House of Representatives versus the 53 currently representing California.

In a press release the organizers of the grass root effort state that, “New California is a new state in development exercising its Constitutional Right to form from the State of California. The process to form New California is authorized and codified in Article 4 Section 3 of the United States Constitution.” That clause requires the state legislature approve the effort.

The group explains the process on their website.

Fundamentals of the Declaration of Independence

New California Declaration of Independence contains 2 major statements. The first is the actual Declaration which severs the political connections between New California and the State of California while and summarizing the motivations for seeking Independence.

Proposed State Seal for New California.

The second statement are known as the Grievances. The grievances are clear dereliction or abuses by the governor and government of California, outright violations of the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution as the sovereign.  Grievances provide a distinct example demonstrating to the world the governor and government of California is failing to provide a federal form of government.

The group offered their reasons or grievances, formally in their documents, as “due to the past and current government of California having failed in their oath of office, obligations, and responsibilities.”

They also offered a more complete list of grievances, informally on their website stating, “The current state of California has become governed by a tyranny” and in their press release. That states, “After years of over taxation, regulation, and mono party politics the State of California and many of its 58 Counties have become ungovernable. The nature of the State becoming ungovernable has caused a decline in essential basic services such as education, law enforcement, fire protection, transportation, housing, health care, taxation, voter rights, banking, state pension systems, prisons, state parks, water resource management, home ownership, infrastructure and many more.”

In the group’s document entitled, “Affirmation of Allegiance to the United States of America and Justification for the Formation of the State of New California” they state that “With faith, diligence, and our sacred honor, we do hereby declare our Unity with Natural Law and the United States of America’s Constitution. We stand firm in our pledge to maintain and support the freedoms of the people of our Nation and New California at all times, at home and abroad.  With God as our witness, honoring the foundational principles, we take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, to stand together as free citizens of New California, to be a sovereign state of that nation which we hold dear, the United States of America.” Justification & Declaration for forming New CA

In their State Declaration of Independence, modeled after and including much of the same language as the one signed by the nation’s Founding Fathers in 1776, which offers their intentions to form the new state:

“We the people of the Counties of New California solemnly publish and declare these counties are, and of Right ought to be, a free and Independent State, that we strive to be free from the State of California, and that as a Free and Independent State, have full power to establish and maintain law and order, to promote general prosperity, and to do all other acts and things, which an Independent New California State may rightfully do.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the Counties of New California, appeal to the California Legislature and the Federal Congress to pass resolutions to create the State of New California.”

The group also explains the process of forming the new state.

State Splitting Process

“The process begins when a state’s legislature first votes to split the state. Once the measure in the form of a resolution passes both the California Assembly and Senate, it is submitted to Congress.

Once there, the matter is discussed. If both chambers the House and Senate of Congress vote to pass it, the state can then be split. There seems to be two options on how a state can split. In the first instance, the state decides how it’s going to be split before sending the proposal to Congress. “

They didn’t offer a second instance.

Attempts to reach both Preston and Bennett by phone call and text were unsuccessful. The phone number provided for Bennett turned out to be incorrect. However, Preston did respond to an email asking about the maps on the group’s website with, “See attached. Call me later about maps. We will be producing a new map today. Thanks.”

One of the attachments included an updated list of counties participating in the effort. Contra Costa County is listed with the words “Rural”, as are the counties of Sacramento, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Sonoma. New California Counties list

Please check back later for details should Preston respond with more information and or we obtain the correct phone number for Bennett and are able to speak with him.

Offer Your Support and Learn More

Other Californians are invited to support the effort by signing up and offering their own three grievances they have with the current state government, on the group’s website: www.newcaliforniastate.com/independence-declaration.

For those interested the group will be holding a reading of Grievance 1 in three locations to be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 23 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Also, the group will hold their seventh Liberty Tour in Marysville on February 10, 2018 contact Vice Chair Paul Preston at newcaliforniarepublic@gmail.com or by calling (530) 632-9786 or Toll Free at 877-828-2753.

Bail set at $1,130,000 for Pittsburg resident Noe Saucedo

Noe Saucedo arrest photo. By Contra Costa County Sheriff

By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff

Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office this afternoon filed formal charges against Noe Saucedo, the suspect who drove a stolen pick-up truck on Wednesday that crashed into another vehicle on Somersville Road in Antioch. He is being charged with murder, felony evading, possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of hero-in. 23-year-old Saucedo of Pittsburg remains in custody at the Martinez Detention Facility. He is being held in lieu of $1,130,000 bail.

The investigation into the collision is ongoing by the Contra Costa County D.A.’s Office, California Highway Patrol, Antioch Police Department and the Office of the Sheriff per the officer-involved protocol. Investigators are trying to determine why suspect Saucedo stole the Ford F-250 pick-up truck in Pittsburg, why he accelerated away from a Deputy Sheriff who was following him, and why he ran through a red light at the intersection of Somersville Road and the eastbound Highway 4 off-ramp before colliding into another vehicle. In addition, tests are being conducted to determine if Saucedo was impaired in any way.

Yesterday, the four-year-old girl who was killed in the vehicle collision was identified as Lenexy Cordoza. Her two-year-old sister and mother remain at the hospital.

“Clearly, suspect Saucedo took a series of actions that led to this tragedy,” said Contra Costa Sheriff David Livingston. “We are saddened by the loss of life and offer our deepest sympathies to the family.”

Anyone with any information on this incident or who may have witnessed it is asked to contact the Office of the Sheriff at (925) 646-2441. For any tips, please email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call 866-846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.